halfback

See also: half-back

English

Etymology

From half +‎ back, in reference to position on the field of play; compare fullback.

In the sense of someone who moves to Florida and then to a more temperate climate, from moving "half way back"

Pronunciation

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Noun

halfback (plural halfbacks)

1. (field sports) Any of various positions on the field of play between the forwards and the fullbacks.
2. (field sports) A player who occupies one of these positions.
   1. (American football) An offensive back whose primary jobs are to carry the ball on running plays and to serve as a receiver or blocker on passing plays.
   2. (Canadian football) A defensive back whose primary jobs are to cover the slotback on passing plays and prevent running plays from going to the outside.
   3. (field hockey) A player in the halfback position, with both offensive and defensive roles.
   4. (Australian rules football) One of three players (the centre halfback and two halfback flankers) on the line between the centre line and the fullback line.
   5. (rugby) The player who feeds the ball into the scrum, and receives the ball as it emerges from the back of the scrum.
3. A person from the northern United States who moves to Florida, but then due to the heat or other issues, moves again to a more temperate climate, primarily the Carolinas.
   • 2012 September 11, Robert Strauss, “Heading South, but Stopping Short of Florida”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     Four years ago, Diane got a small inheritance and they became what Paul Klein calls “halfbacks” — people who moved to Florida from the North and have progressed partly back.

   • 2016 August 11, Rebecca Tippett, “NC in Focus: Examining “halfback” trends”, in Carolina Demography‎^[2]:

     One of my favorite stories of North Carolina’s demographic growth and change is the “halfback.”

   • 2019 March 4, Michael Patrick Shiels, “Lansing to low country – half-back snowbirds settle in SC”, in Lansing State Journal‎^[3]:

     “‘Halfbacks’ are snowbirds from Michigan who have tried wintering in Florida but decided to move…half way back.

Derived terms

• defensive halfback

Verb

halfback (third-person singular simple present halfbacks, present participle halfbacking, simple past and past participle halfbacked)

1. To play in the position of halfback.